Enquiry about object: 7050
Indian Brass Lingam Cover
Maharashtra or Karnataka, India 19th century
height: 10.3cm, diameter: 9cm, weight: 449g
Provenance
acquired by the previous owner at Christie's New York, 'Indian and Southeast Asian Art', 19 September 2002, lot 135.
This cylindrical cover is to fit over a lingam (or might have been worshipped in its own right in lieu of a lingam). It is of thickly-walled brass with a reinforced rim and a rounded top.
Many covers have faces (in which case they are called a mukhalinga) but this cover is noteworthy for its complete plainness and abstraction.
The lingam is a stylised representation of a phallus and is a tantric representation of Shiva. Usually linga are carved from stone.
Lingam covers are used in puja or prayer rituals and are a visible form of the mantra namah Shivaya through which devotees invoke the blessings of Shiva.
The cover is in excellent condition.
References
Aryan, S., Unknown Masterpieces of Indian Folk and Tribal Art, KC Aryan’s Home of Folk Art, 2005.
Aryan, S., B.N. Aryan & G. Rossi, Mukhalinga, Ethnoarte, 2011.
Rawson, P., Tantra, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1971.
